Cenoz, J. & Gorter, D. (2006) Linguistic landscape and minority languages. The International Journal of Multilingualism 3: 67-80.

International Journal of Multilingualism, 2006

This paper focuses on the linguistic landscape of two streets in two multilingual cities in Friesland (Netherlands) and the Basque Country (Spain) where a minority language is spoken, Basque or Frisian. The paper analyses the use of the minority language (Basque or Frisian), the state language (Spanish or Dutch) and English as an international language on language signs. It compares the use of these languages as related to the differences in language policy regarding the minority language in these two settings and to the spread of English in Europe. The data include over 975 pictures of language signs that were analysed so as to determine the number of languages used, the languages on the signs and the characteristics of bilingual and multilingual signs. The findings indicate that the linguistic landscape is related to the official language policy regarding minority languages and that there are important differences between the two settings.

Languages, 2019

During the last decades, the promotion of multilingualism has been key when designing linguistic policies in Europe. Previous research studies have focused on how languages are employed in fields such as education, media, and urban sites, among others. Bearing all this in mind, the aim of this paper is to analyse the linguistic landscapes of three municipalities located in a bilingual region in Spain, that of the Valencian Community. Thus, issues such as language contact, language dominance, and the languages used by a number of institutions on private and public signs were examined. As for the method, over 140 pictures of language signs were taken in order to examine language contact, language dominance, and the influence of official and foreign languages on private and public signs. The results suggest that the presence of languages may vary depending on the population living in these settings, the citizens' mother tongue, and the policy regarding the minority language. The findings also indicate that the power of the two co-official languages is reinforced by public signs, whereas rich linguistic diversity is shown in private signs. All in all, it can be stated that the linguistic policy in the Valencian Community is not homogeneous throughout the region.

In contemporary Europe, support for autochthonous minority languages is expressed by displaying messages in these languages alongside messages in the majority language(s) on public signs,such as road signs, street signs, signs on the buildings of public institutions etc. Such form of support is part of explicit language policies at the national level in a number of countries of Europe as well as at the Council of Europe level. This study deals with the implementation of these policies and their reception by the local populations in Wales, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia. The responses to the presence of minority languages on signs vary and have a number of motivations. The qualitative analysis presented in this study has identified several features as significant for the implementation of bilingual signage and its reception across the research locations: (1) decentralization of public administration, (2) ethnicization of language policies, (3) territoriality of signage, (4) collective historical memory, (5) bilingual sign design and (6) the indexical vs. symbolic functions of bilingual signage.

Being visible may be as important for minority languages as being heard. Traditional research on minority languages focuses on language maintenance and language shift, on language endangerment and revitalization, on language transmission in the family, on education, and on language policies in other social domains such as the media. Although literacy has become an important issue also for speakers of minority languages, much less attention has been given to the written displays of minority languages in the public space. In this volume, our aim is to explore the contribution of linguistic landscape research to the understanding of the dynamics of minority language situations, with an explicit focus on Europe. We wish to add a new perspective to the long history of studies of linguistic minorities, because we believe the aspect of the visibility of minority languages in public space has received too little attention in traditional minority language research. The linguistic landscape approach seems particularly appropriate for a number of reasons. First, it adopts an all-encompassing view on written language in the public space, paying attention to all signs, rather than limiting its scope to the study of predominantly one type of signs. Second, linguistic landscape research not only studies the signs, but it investigates as well who initiates, creates, places and reads them. Moreover, linguistic landscape research as presented in this volume looks at how the linguistic landscape is manipulated – consciously or unconsciously – in order to confirm or to resist existing or presumed language prestige patterns and hierarchies. It also considers ways

Journal of Pragmatics, 2011

2012

Minority Languages in the Linguistic Landscape provides an innovative approach to the written displays of minority languages in public space. It explores minority language situations through the lens of linguistic landscape research. Based on very tangible data it explores the 'same old issues' of language contact and language conflict in new ways. It deepens our understanding of language policies, power relations and ideologies. The chapters cover a wide geographic area, ranging from Sámi in the far North, to Basque, Catalan and Corsican in the South. From the town of Dingle on the West coast of Ireland to the cities of Kiev and Chisinau in the East of Europe, including the contrasting cases of Israel and Brunei. Combining theoretical approaches from various disciplines to provide a framework which connects real bottom-up data with more abstract research on minority languages, this book will be useful for researchers and students in applied linguistics, sociolinguistics and policy sciences, as well as for policy makers.

MULTILINGUAL MATTERS, 2001

2012

When we first started the project of looking at minority languages through a linguistic landscape lens, we felt that the visibility of minority languages in public space had been insufficiently dealt with in traditional minority language research. A linguistic landscape approach, as it had developed over the last years, would constitute a valuable path to explore, by looking at the ‘same old issues’ of language contact and language conflict from a specific angle. We were convinced that fresh linguistic landscape data would be able to provide innovative and useful insights into ‘patterns of language […] use, official language policies, prevalent language attitudes, [and] power relations between different linguistic groups’ (Backhaus 2007, p. 11). The linguistic landscape approach, as presented by the different authors in this volume, has clearly proven to be a heuristic appropriate and relevant for a wide range of minority language situations. More specifically, the ideas and analyses in the different chapters do contribute to a further understanding of minority languages and their speakers. They deepen our comprehension of language policies, power relations and ideologies in minority language settings.

2018

Research objective: The aim of the article is to examine the circumstances of introduction and subsequent functioning of the minority language from the perspective of local authorities. The hypothesis that bilingualism is a part of the creation of a multicultural image of communes, as well as an element of their promotion and strategic development has been verified. The research problem and methods: The main problem of the publication is the non-symbolic daily practice of language policy in 33 communes that introduced an auxiliary minority language. In the research process, the analysis of evoked sources, critical analysis of content posted on the Internet and the case study method were applied. The process of argumentation: The argument consists of four main parts. The first part discusses the symbolic use of the minority language. The second part presents basic information on the Polish context of policy towards minority languages. The third part presents the main assumptions and ...

Linguistic landscape (L.L) is the study of written languages in the public space. This paper is an endeavor to explore and describe the linguistic make-up of Casablanca as it is conveyed in its Linguistic Landscape in order to explore the languages used in its public signs, the characteristics of these signs, and language attitudes at play that shape the public space of this city. Two different places, Prince Moulay Abdellah Avenue and Idris Alharti Boulevard, were chosen as sites of investigation. The data include over 177 pictures of language signs that were analyzed so as to determine the number of languages used, the languages on the signs and the characteristics of monolingual, bilingual and multilingual signs, with a special attention given to bottom-up signs (non-governmental signs). Although Arabic and Tamazight are official languages in Morocco, their presence in the LL is not equal. The signs in Casablanca’s linguistic landscape reveal language attitudes that are present and sometimes promote one language over another. On the same line, close-ended questionnaires (60) and interviews (7) with shop owners give a good insight into their language choice. The findings indicate that the linguistic landscape is, to a large extent, shaped by language attitudes that construct the public space with certain languages and that there are important differences between the two settings- Prince Moulay Abdellah Avenue and Idris Alharti Boulevard.